All the gold which is under or upon the earth is not enough to give in exchange for virtue.

Plato

***

Art is like baby shoes. When you coat them with gold, they can no longer be worn.

John Updike

***

As every thread of gold is valuable, so is every moment of time.

John Mason

***
For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.

Martin Luther

***

Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth,

but by washing away from it all that is not gold.

Leo Tolstoy

***

Don’t miss all the beautiful colors of the rainbow looking for that pot of gold.

Anonymous

***

Silence is golden.

Proverb

***

Make new friends but keep the old.

One is silver and the other gold.

Lyrics of traditional girl scout song by Joseph Parry

***

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.

Mohndas Gandhi

***

The most pitiful among men is he who turns his dreams into silver and gold.

Khalil Gibran

***

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

I’ll admit it, as far as I’m concerned, this falls into the “what will they think of next…” category, but in the spirit of Gustav Klimt (who showed us the benefits of embellishing all things with gold) and since it is the season of Auld Lang Syne…silver and gold and all of that…let me introduce you to (you saw it here first!)…edible gold leaf! And yes, edible silver leaf is also a (slightly more economical) option.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I must tell you that I haven’t actually tried this. (I’m far too cheap.) But if you have money to burn…or maybe I should say digest…I’m sure these bars will make quite the impression at your next party.

So, as I’ve already confessed to being too “frugal” to make these, I have to admit, too, that the photo above is not mine, but from L.A. Gold Leaf Company, a wholesaler of all sorts of edible gold products. The following recipe, however, is mine (actually my great aunt Mary’s) and I think a wonderful candidate for the addition of gold leaf. But—with or without this sort of embellishment—these delicious brownies have long been the gold standard in our family…

Ingredients

1 C. butter

2 C. sugar

4 eggs

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

2 tsp. vanilla

1 C. flour

1 C. chopped walnuts

1/2 C. quartered maraschino cherries and juice

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Grease the bottom of a 9 x 9″ or 10 x 13″ pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and beat well. Blend in chocolate and vanilla. Add flour, salt, nuts, and cherries/juice. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes.

Enjoy…and Happy Holidays to all!

Even just a hint of a sparkle or metallic sheen is enough to catch our attention and get us to take a second look. Gustav Klimt knew it, and so do we…  Here’s an idea for making some decorated boxes to package your holiday gifts in that are sure to be noticed…and appreciated!

Materials and Tools:

Photo storage box, or other box with a lid that fits over the top

One piece of paper that is large enough to cover the top of your box, plus several smaller pieces of paper in colors that will complement one another. Choose nice quality paper that paint will adhere to. To calculate the size you’ll need for your large piece of paper, measure the top of your box (length and width and the depth of the sides (of the box top). Then, take the length measurement plus two times the side measurement plus another inch  to make the flaps to glue on the inside. That is the length of the piece of paper you will need.  Now, do the same thing, substituting the measurement for the width of your box top.(Example: Our box was 5″ x 7″ and the side of the top were 1 and 1/2 “. So we take 7 plus 3 (2 times 1 and 1/2) plus 1 = 11 and 5 plus 3 plus 1 = 9. So we needed a sheet of paper that was 9″ x 11″ to cover the top. If you want to cover the bottom of your box, you’ll need to make similar calculations for that. But in our case, we just painted it.

A rubber stamp with a strong graphic design that appeals to you. Something around an inch and a half or two inches in size is good.

Colored ink (or you can use the stamp with paint if you prefer)

Acrylic paints in at least three colors that go well with your chosen paper.

Acrylic paint in a metallic color–gold, silver, copper, bronze, etc.

Decoupage medium such as Mod Podge

Texturing comb (or old hair comb with wide teeth)

Adhesives: glue stick, tacky glue, etc. You can probably make this work with whatever you have on hand.

Sponge, natural or large (like for car washing) torn in smaller pieces

Misc. supplies: Pencil, paint brush, ruler, scissors, paint dishes or plastic lids

Directions:

Note: If  are using a very light colored paper and your box is so dark it might show through, give the box top a coat of white, or light-colored paint. Set the bottom of the box aside for now.

1. Begin with your large sheet of paper. Squeeze small amounts of each of the three colors of acrylic paints you are using onto the paint dishes or plastic lids. Dab a piece of sponge into your first color of paint and pounce to distribute the color. Sponge streaks of paint on the paper, varying the amount of paint from heavy to fairly light. Repeat this process with the remaining two colors. Let dry.
2. Use the rubber stamp you have selected with ink or another color of paint if you prefer and stamp randomly across the painted paper. Let dry.
3. Mix the metallic paint you selected with the decoupage medium. Adjust the ratio to your preference. I usually use about 1 part paint to 2 parts Mod Podge. Brush this glaze over a section of your paper. While the glaze is still wet, drag a comb through the glaze in a circular motion. Wipe the comb off and drag it through again going in an opposite direction.
4. Continue this process, working in small sections of the paper until it is completely covered in swirling, circular designs.
5. Now, look at the smaller pieces of colored paper and think how you might want to decorate them. These are going to be used as embellishments on your box top. You may want to leave some plain, or perhaps use the sponge to load the stamp with metallic glaze and stamp that design randomly on some. Use your creativity here.
6. Let this all dry. The glaze is going to take awhile to dry , so this is a good time to work on the bottom of your box. As suggested earlier, you can paint it, if you like, or cover it with paper. (If you are going to cover it with paper, follow the instructions below for how to cover the top, but–of course–use  the bottom in this case) Or, if you were lucky enough to get a box that was attractive to begin with and complements the colors and designs you’re using for the top, you may want to just leave it as is.
7. When the papers you have decorated are dry, it is time to cover your box. Turn the paper upside down on your working surface. (If you are fortunate enough to have more paper than you need, you may want to choose the part of it you’d like to have on the top of the lid and proceed accordingly.) Place the top of your box upside down on the part of the paper you want to cover the top and trace lightly around it with the pencil.
8. Next, turn the top up on one of its long sides (keeping in line with the pencil mark you made) and trace around that. Repeat with the other three sides. (you will have made a large “t” on your paper.
9. Measure and mark an additional 1/2 ” flap on all  four ends of the “t.” These are the flaps that will fold over and be glued to the inside.
10. Add a 1/4 ” flap to both the right and left sides of each long edge. These will cover the corners of the box top.
11. Cut out the “t” shape from the paper along the marked outlines.
12. Apply glue or adhesive lightly to the center of the “t” and place the box top in the center, carefully lining it up with the lines you traced around it.
13. Beginning with the long sides, apply adhesive and press and smooth the paper into place, folding and gluing the 1/2″ flap inside the box lid and the 1/4″ flap at each end over the corners to the short side of the lid.
14. Apply adhesive and wrap the paper over the short sides of the lid, again folding and gluing the 1/2″ flaps inside the box.
15. To embellish the top of your box, cut or tear pieces of the other papers, combining them with scraps from the larger sheet, if desired, and experiment until you find a design you like. Then, glue those pieces in place.
16. Voila! You’ve created a gorgeous gift box! Too bad you have to give it away (better make another for yourself…)

Our Klimt-inspired gift box was, itself, inspired by an idea in the book, Decorated Boxes, by Mary Lynn Maloney. Check it out for even more great ideas!

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. Source: Wikipedia

This is no ordinary Golden Anniversary. In 2012, Vienna, Austria will celebrate the 150^th birthday of a favorite son, Gustav Klimt with exhibitions, tours and events throughout the city. But he wasn’t always so well accepted; Gustav Klimt was one of the most innovative and controversial artists of the early twentieth century.

Early Years

Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt was born in 1862, the son of a struggling gold and silver engraver in a suburb of Vienna. He and his two brothers all displayed artistic talent early on. Gustav was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. His brother Ernst also enrolled in the school. The two brothers and a friend, Franz Matsch, opened a studio specializing in murals, which was quite successful. So Gustav Klimt began his professional career painting interior murals and ceilings in large public buildings in the prevailing classical-realist style. In 1892, both Klimt’s father and his brother Ernst died, leaving him financially responsible for both families. It was also during this time that he met Emilie Flöge, who would become his lifelong companion. Flöge was the sister of his brother’s widow, and whether or not this relationship was sexual has been the subject of some debate among scholars.

The Founder of the Vienna Secession

The personal tragedies that Klimt endured affected his artistic vision as well, and a new personal style began emerging in this work. As his style grew increasingly experimental, Klimt’s paintings and murals were attacked by critics for their fantastical imagery and bold, decorative style. Partly in response to this criticism, in 1897 Klimt helped form the Secession, a group of artists dedicated to challenging the conservative Academy of Fine Arts, and became its first president. Like impressionism, art nouveau was a revolt against the traditional academic art style and Klimt’s mature style, combining richly decorative surface patterning with complex symbolism and allegory, often with overtly erotic content, became the trademark of the movement.

Gustav Klimt ultimately left the Vienna Secession in 1905 after quarrels and disagreements with another member, Josef Hofmann. Believing that art should not be confined to studios and canvases, Klimt went on to design fashion and jewelry. Together with Kolo Moser, he also designed his companion Emilie Flöge’s the fashion studio.

The Golden Phase

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt

In the early 1900s, Klimt concentrated primarily on portraits and landscapes, however he also produced two of his greatest murals during this period—The Beethoven Frieze, which was exhibited at the Secession in 1902, and decorations for the Palais Stoclet in Brussels (1904-1911). Many of the paintings from Klimt’s “Golden Phase,” which ultimately earned him the greatest critical acclaim and success of his career, are marked by the artist’s prominent use of gold leaf. Klimt’s gold technique was undoubtedly influenced by his father’s profession as an engraver. And while the artist did not travel widely, trips to Venice and Ravenna, both famous for their mosaics, are thought to have further inspired his gold technique and the Byzantine imagery in these paintings. The works most popularly associated with Klimt’s Golden Phase are The Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907) and his most famous painting, The Kiss (1907-1908).

The Kiss

The Kiss by Gustav Klimt. Source: Wikipedia

Klimt generally spent summer holidays with the Flöge family on the Attersee, near Salzburg, where he drew inspiration for many of his landscapes, and where he painted some of his best-known works, including The Kiss. This iconic painting measures 180 by 180 centimeters. Its style is highly ornamental, and the organic lines and contours are characteristic of the Art Nouveau movement.

Some scholars believe that the couple depicted in The Kiss are the artist himself and Emilie Flöge, But whatever his relationship with Flöge, it did not prevent the Klimt from having affairs with a number of his models. Klimt’s love of women clearly extended beyond the canvas, and though always discreet and careful to avoid scandal, the artist was very active sexually. Working and relaxing at home, Klimt characteristically wore sandals and a long robe with no undergarments. And perhaps due in part to this “freedom,” he is believed to have fathered at least 14 children.

Klimt’s works of art were both admired and highly controversial. The paintings were somewhat scandalous at the time because of the nudity they contained, as well as the subtle (and not-so-subtle) sexuality and eroticism portrayed.

The Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph II reportedly disliked Klimt’s art work and the Secessionists so deeply that his drivers had orders not to pass any buildings showing Secessionist art. Nevertheless, Klimt did achieve success in his lifetime. In 1911, his painting, Death and Life, was awarded first prize in the world exhibitions in Rome.

Klimt died on February 6, 1918 in Vienna, after suffering a stroke and pneumonia due to the influenza epidemic of 1918.

Klimt’s painting have since brought some of the highest prices recorded for individual works of art. In 2006, his 1907 portrait, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, was purchased for a reported 135 million dollars, surpassing Picasso’s Boy with a Pipe, as the highest price ever paid for a painting.

Gustav Klimt may have had his ups and downs and disagreements with the critics during his lifetime, but now, on the eve of his 150^th birthday, it seems the verdict is finally in. Not just in his home of Vienna, Austria but worldwide, Klimt is, indeed, golden!

For more information…

The largest collection of Gustav Klimt’s work, including The Kiss, is housed in the Belvedere in Vienna. The museum will host a number of events in commemoration of the artist’s 150^th birthday. This website has more information about Klimt and planned anniversary events, and here you’ll find a wonderful multimedia presentation about Gustav Klimt.

If you’d prefer a book about the artist, we recommend this one:

Image from www.appledolls.org

Dolls have a long, rich history across the cultures. In prehistoric times, primitive puppets were often used in ceremonies. Tribal healers in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere, sometimes utilized dolls in medicinal rituals. And, of course, most people are familiar with the idea of cursing enemies through the use of voodoo dolls (but we won’t go there right now…)

A few month ago, we looked at the tradition of corn dollies, which were believed to keep the spirits of the grain alive through the long winters, and to help ensure a good harvest the following year. But speaking of fruit faces (as we did in our earlier post about Guiseppe Arcimboldo’s unique portraits, here’s another way to use another common natural material (apples) to create the wonderful, wizened faces of applehead dolls. The Seneca Indians may have been the first to make dolls from apples, but the craft was later adopted by the mountain people in Appalachia. Today, they remain a popular folk art of the region.

I’m just going to give you the basics here, because there are several sites out there (www.appledolls.org in particular) that already do a far better job than I with the specifics.  Look for the resource list at the end of the post.

Materials:

Apples (large is better as they will shrink substantially when drying)

Lemon Juice

Kitchen knife

Cotton balls or other fiber for hair (raw cotton can be dyed in strong coffee or tea, if desired)

Red watercolor paint

Beads or apple seeds for eyes

Wire (such as from a coat hangar) to form the basic body

Rags to give shape to the body

Rubber bands or tape to secure the rags on the wire form

Fabric for clothes (or use existing doll clothes if you have them)

To Make the Applehead:

1. Carefully peel the apple and then carve out the eyes, nose, mouth and ears (here is a great step-by-step for this procedure)
2. Insert beads or seeds for the eyes.
3. If desired, you can also cut small hands and feet from pieces of apple
4. Dip the carved apple in a lemon juice bath for a minute or two, followed by a generous sprinkling of salt (this serves as a preservative)
5. Dry your applehead. Depending upon the humidity, this can take several weeks. It’s best to hang your applehead during this process. You can speed things up by using a food dehydrator or putting it in your oven at a low temperature. When the head is completely dried it will be about half its original size and the face will have “aged.” One of the fun things about this craft is that you can never predict exactly what the dried face will look like!
6. Dilute red watercolor paint with a little water and paint the mouth. Further dilute the paint for give the cheeks a rosy glow.
7. Give your applehead a thin coat of clear shellac or varnish to protect it.
8. Using  the cotton balls or other fiber, glue hair on your doll’s head.

Assemble Your Doll:

1. Use pliars to twist the wire into a simple stick figure.
2. Wrap strips of rags around the wire to give form to the body. Use rubber bands or tape to secure the rags to the wire form.
3. Make clothes (or use existing doll clothes) to dress your doll.
4. Attach the head by skewering it firmly on the protruding wire “neck” of the wire stick figure.
5. Attach your apple hands and feet to the wire stick figure, if desired

And there you have it! Making applehead dolls is a fun craft for fall.

For more detailed explanations and inspiration, check out these sites:

Apple Dolls

“Make Applehead Dolls” from Mother Earth News

“Apple Head Dolls” from Drying Times

Have your centerpiece and eat it too! In our post about Guiseppe Arcimboldo, we explored the creative ways in which he used fruits and vegetables to produce his fantastic portraits. Now, here’s another way to create art from fruit—with the added benefit that this one is actually edible. With this beautiful fruit bouquet, you can enjoy your centerpiece during dinner and then put out a chocolate dipping sauce (or whatever you like…) and dismantle it for a delicious and healthful dessert!

A fruit bouquet might also make a nice, light morning-after-Thanksgiving breakfast. However you choose to use it, it’s an attractive and fun way to get your daily servings of fruit (and for a fraction of the cost of what the professionals at Incredible Edibles charge!).

Here’s what you’ll need:

A container

This can be a basket, ceramic container or a vase. I would recommend something opaque (you don’t want to be able to see through it) with fairly high sides so that you have plenty of room to anchor your skewers of fruit (more on that later…). Make sure the container is food safe, washed and clean.

 A base

Either florist foam or a head (or heads, depending on the size of your arrangement) of iceberg lettuce. If you use florist foam, you’ll need to cover it with plastic so the foam doesn’t touch the food. I used a head of iceberg lettuce and it worked very well. Besides, in my opinion, that’s about the only thing iceberg lettuce is good for (although my daughter would disagree…)

A variety of fruits

I used grapes, a fresh pineapple, a honeydew melon, strawberries, and grapes. You might also want to try mangoes and other melons. Bananas and apples are not recommended as they will turn brown very quickly. Soft berries like raspberries probably won’t hold up well enough to be very successful either. Choose your fruits to include a variety of colors and textures. Or, depending on the occasion, you might want to stick with two-tone colors or even limit the bouquet to a single fruit.

Parsley or other greens as a garnish and to hide any skewers that are showing

Tools

You’ll need a cutting board, bamboo skewers, kitchen knives, flower- and/or leaf-shaped cookie cutters (or cardboard patterns to cut around), kitchen scissors, and a melon baller (if you have one—I didn’t)

Instructions

Note: Don’t make your fruit bouquet too far in advance as even these fruits will brown if left too long in the open air.

1. Cut your pineapple into ½” slices and use a cookie cutter (or cardboard pattern) to cut a flower shape out of each slice.
2. Use smaller cookie cutters or other patterns to cut smaller flower or leaf shapes from fruits such as melons and mangoes.
3. Cut spears from melons and mangoes as well, if you like.
4. If you have a melon baller, use it to scoop out balls to use as the centers of your pineapple flowers. You can also use whole strawberries, grapes, or smaller flowers cut from melons as flower centers (which is what I did).
5. Once you have cut out a good selection of shapes, you can begin assembling your bouquet. To start, put the base of either plastic-covered florist foam or iceberg lettuce in your container.
6. Take a bamboo skewer and stick six or seven grapes on it, pushing each one down farther with the next until you have just enough room for the flower at the top. Stick the pineapple flower on the skewer and then the fruit you are using for the center.
7. Continue making skewers in a similar fashion, but experimenting with different looks. For instance, you make want to make several skewers with only grapes. You may also want some with melon or mango spears or different types (or centers) for your flowers.
8. Once you have 10 or 12 skewers, begin arranging them in the base. In some cases, you may want to cut an inch or two off the bottom of the skewers so you have flowers of different heights in your bouquet.
9. As your bouquet comes together, you’ll see where you have holes to fill, so continue making fruit skewers of different styles and heights and adding them to your bouquet until you’ve created an arrangement you’re happy with.
10. Once all the fruit skewers are in place, tear off sprigs of parsley and fit them in and around the top of your container to hide the skewers and create a finished look.
11. If you like, you can dip some of the fruit in chocolate, add sprigs of mint, small toys in the shape of butterflies or other items. There’s no limit to the ways you can let your creative juices flow here…
12. You’re done! You have created a beautiful, edible arrangement. ENJOY!

Rudolf II Painted as Verumnus, Roman God of the Seasons

Art critics have long debated whether the imaginative portrait heads of Giuseppe Arcimboldo (also spelled Arcimboldi), created entirely of representations of objects such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, sea creatures and tree roots, are merely whimsical or the products of an unbalanced mind. The artist arranged these objects on the canvas so they formed a recognizable likeness of the subject of the portrait.

Born in Milan, Italy in 1527, Giuseppe Arcimboldo eventually became the court portraitist to Ferdinand I at the Habsburg court in Vienna, and later, to Maximilian II and his son Rudolf II at the court in Prague. He also served as the court decorator and costume designer. When King Augustus of Saxony visited Vienna in 1570 and 1573, he saw Arcimboldo’s work and commissioned a copy of “The Four Seasons” that incorporated his own monarchic symbols.

The Four Seasons

Summer

Winter

Autumn

Spring

After leaving royal service in Prague, Arcimboldo retired to Milan, where he died in 1593. In his final years, he produced the composite portrait of Rudolf II (the image featured at the top of the post).

Although there are those who maintain the artist was nuts (pun intended!), the majority of scholars believe that, given the period in which he worked, and the Renaissance fascination with riddles, puzzles, and the unusual (the grotesque heads of Leonardo da Vinci, for example), Arcimboldo was simply catering to the tastes of his times.

While Arcimboldo’s more conventional work, on traditional religious subjects, has been largely forgotten, his unique fruit and vegetable portraits were rediscovered in the early 20th century by Surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí. These fascinating portraits were greatly admired by his contemporaries and remain popular today.

So, who knows? Maybe old Arcimboldo was full of beans, but it was going a little bananas that guaranteed his legacy. It’s food for thought, anyway…

All images are in public domain (based on life of the author plus 100 years)

You might also enjoy the children’s book, Hello Fruit Face, which features Arcimboldo’s work:

Image courtesy of mexicansugarskulls.com

Sugar art has been created in Mexico since colonial times. For the Day of the Dead, sugar skulls represented a departed soul, with the name of the person being honored written on the forehead. The skulls were then placed on home altars (ofrendas) or gravestones in honor of that soul’s return. Today, the skulls are also popular gifts. Like valentines, sugar skulls are exchanged by friends and sweethearts as a token of an affection and love that will transcend death. (If this seems like a strange idea, you may want to ready our post about Day of the Dead imagery.)

The sugar skulls sold in the markets for Day of the Dead are made using a complicated process involving boiled sugar and clay molds. But you can easily make your own skulls at home with just sugar, meringue powder, water, and special plastic molds.

Ingredients for Skulls:

Granulated sugar

Meringue Powder

Water

Quantities vary depending on the number and size of skulls being made. See the table below.

Equipment:

Plastic skull molds*

Cardboard cut into approximately 5” or 6” squares (one for each skull part—front and back—being made)

Measuring cups and spoons

Plastic bin or large mixing bowl for sugar mixture

Hand or counter-top mixer for royal icing

Smaller bowls for mixing icing colors (one per color)

Decorator bags and tips for royal icing

Paper plates or plastic trays (to use as a work surface and to hold your decorating materials)

*Note: The skulls do not have to dry in the molds, so you can make many skulls in a single session using just one mold. Molds are available from CRIZMAC (see below)

For Decorating:

 Royal icing (recipe follows)

Colored foil candy wrappers (holiday versions of Hershey’s Kisses have great colors!)

Sequins, beads, or plastic jewels

White glue

Glitter glue (Note: the water in the glue will dissolve the sugar a bit, but this can create an interesting “incised” effect)

Miscellaneous decorative materials (feathers, ribbons, etc.)

Basic Sugar Skull Recipe:

A general guideline is one teaspoon of meringue powder and one teaspoon of water for every cup of sugar.

For larger quantities:

Directions:

 Note: Do not attempt to make sugar skulls on a rainy or humid day.

1. Put the sugar and meringue powder in the plastic bin and mix thoroughly.

2. Make sure the meringue powder is completely dispersed through the sugar.  Measure the water into the mixture and mix with your hands. The mixture should feel like damp beach sand, and it should clump when you squeeze it.

3. Hold the mold in your hand (when working with the medium sized molds, they’ll be easier to handle if you cut the two pieces apart). Scoop some of the sugar mixture and press it firmly into the mold. Pack the mold with sugar as tightly as possible. Use one of the cardboard squares to scrape any excess off the back of the mold. If working with large skulls, you can make your sugar go further by hollowing out your skull a little. Just scoop out a small hole in the back, making sure to leave at least a half inch border all around so it won’t be too fragile.

Place a cardboard square over the back of the mold and flip the mold over so the cardboard is on the bottom. Carefully lift the mold up and off the molded sugar. If any part of the skull gets nicked in the process, simply dump it back in the bin and try again. When you are satisfied with your skull, place the cardboard with the molded sugar on a table or other flat surface to dry.

Depending on the humidity, it may take anywhere from an hour to a day for your skull to dry.

Royal Icing Recipe

Royal icing is often used for decorative confections. While technically edible, it dries rock hard, so is rarely consumed. This recipe yields enough icing to decorate 5 large or 20 medium skulls.

Note: If you need more icing, don’t double this recipe unless you have a commercial grade mixer; just make another batch.

Ingredients:

2 lb. bag of powdered sugar

½ cup of meringue powder

2/3 cup of water

Paste food coloring

Zip-top freezer bags, one per color

Directions:

1. Put the powdered sugar and meringue powder in the bowl of a mixer. Blend with a spoon to distribute the meringue.
2. Add the water in small increments with the mixer on low speed. After the ingredients are well-blended, turn the mixer on a higher speed and mix for 9 minutes.
3. Distribute the icing in smaller bowls, one for each color of icing you want to make. If you are working with two-part skulls (front and back) reserve some uncolored icing to use to “glue” the two sections together
4. Add about 1/8 teaspoon of paste food coloring to each bowl and mix thoroughly. A word of warning: Paste food coloring is extremely concentrated and will stain skin and clothing.
5. Assemble decorator bags and tips and put one color of icing in each.

Decorating skulls

 If you are working with two part skulls, use the reserved white icing to attach the front and back sections. Allow time for this to dry before continuing.

Select the items you want to use for decorating and put them on your plate or work surface. Many decorative effects can be obtained with different colors of icing and various decorator tips. You can also use the icing to “glue” on items such as sequins and pieces of foil. Don’t be afraid to go a little crazy. Skulls should be fanciful and fun!

When you are satisfied with your creation, allow time for it to dry (usually several hours).

Resources

At CRIZMAC, we offer lots of Day of the Dead resources, including a variety of sugar skull molds and meringue powder.

For more ideas on how to celebrate the Day of the Dead, you may enjoy our new book:

Order a signed copy directly from us at CRIZMAC or a less expensive (but unsigned) one from Amazon.

La Catrina by Jose Guadalupe Posada

All those grinning skulls and clackety skeletons you see for Day of the Dead celebrations are fun, to be sure, but they are meant to convey an important message, as well. In our post about the imagery associated with the Day of the Dead, we looked at the work of José Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913). A political cartoonist and printmaker during the reign of Porfirio Diaz, Posada frequently depicted politicians and other important figures as skeletons in his work.

Posada’s best known image is “Catrina,” an elegant and well-dressed female skeleton. She is said to have been inspired by a well-to-do French woman who fancied herself quite high and mighty. In drawing Catrina and other prominent figures as skeletons, Posada’s intention was to poke fun at the wealthy and to remind people that, in death, all souls are equal.

Deep down, we all know this is the truth. Yet it’s all too easy to forget amidst the frenzy of our daily lives. In his landmark book (honestly, this was a life-changing book for me. I can’t recommend it highly enough), The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey devotes an entire chapter to “Beginning with the End in Mind.”

The chapter starts with a powerful visualization exercise that you may want to try. It goes something like this (for the complete version, pick up a copy of the book):

Clear your mind and go somewhere you can be alone and uninterrupted.

Now imagine that you are attending the funeral of a loved one. You come into the funeral parlor and hear the solemn organ music playing. When you walk to the front of the room and look in the casket, you see that the deceased is you.

This is your funeral and it is taking place three years from today. All the other people who are in attendance are there to honor and remember you.

Imagine that there are to be four speakers. One is a member of your family. The second is a good friend. The next speaker is someone you knew from your work or profession, and the final speaker is from your church or community organization.

Now, take a moment to think deeply about this. What would you like for each of these people to say? In what ways do you hope you have influenced and affected the people in your life? What accomplishments would you like to be remembered for? What difference do you want to have made in the lives of your family and friends? In the world around you?

When you are ready, write down some of the thoughts and impressions you had.

Covey ends this section of the book by relating a conversation between two friends at the funeral of a mutual acquaintance. “How much did he leave?” one asked.

“He left it all,” the other responded.

***

 You can’t take it with you. No one can—not even the fashionable Catrina—as Posada illustrated so well. All that matters in the end is what we leave behind. And Covey’s exercise will help you get clear on just what you’d like that to be…

Old Graves of a Jewish Cemetery photo by Frettie

It has been said that death is the great equalizer. Certainly, it’s the one thing that none of us can avoid, so in that regard, we’re all the same.

In our post about all the skulls and skeletons associated with Day of the Dead, we talked about how this imagery serves as a humorous reminder that life is short. You can fear death, or you can choose to accept and embrace its inevitability. In their celebration of the Day of the Dead, the Mexicans (and many others in Latin America) choose the latter.

La Catrina by Jose Guadalupe Posada

The Mexican printer and political cartoonist, Jose Guadalupe Posada modeled his iconic “Catrina” figure, frequently associated with the Day of the Dead, after a wealthy French woman who lived in Mexico during the reign of Porfirio Diaz. During this time, the poor masses lived a miserable existence, while the aristocrats lorded it over them, living high on the hog and abusing the power and wealth they enjoyed. By drawing Catrina—with her fancy plumed hat—as a skeleton, Posada wanted to communicate the idea that “you may think you’re high and mighty now, but in the end you’ll be dead—just like all the rest of us.”

It’s a popular sentiment—particularly among the downtrodden. There’s no clear consensus as to who first deemed death, “the great equalizer,” but the basic idea has been quoted and rephrased by many since:

 Maybe death is the great equalizer, the one big thing that can finally make strangers shed a tear for one another.

 Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

***

Death, the great equalizer, always restores to its possessors the rights of mind.

Susanna Moodie, Life in the Clearing versus the Bush

***

The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
Death lays his icy hand on Kings;
Sceptre and crown
Must tumble down
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.

James Shirley, Death the Leveler

***

God made men. Sam Colt made them equal.

Unknown

***

With death comes honesty.

Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses

***

Six feet of earth make all equal

Unknown

***

All share a common destiny-the righteous and the wicked,

the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean,

those who offer sacrifices and those who do not…

For the living know that they will die.

Ecclesiastes 9:2-3, 12-13

***

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike the inevitable hour-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

***

And last but not least, the founder of Apple, the late, great Steve Jobs said the following at the commencement address he gave at Stanford in 2005 (shortly after his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer):

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there.

And yet death is the destination we all share.

No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be,

because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life.

It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.

Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now,

you will gradually become the old and be cleared away.

Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

But lest we work ourselves into a real funk and start wondering what’s the use of anything, let’s not forget that while we all may be equal in death, it’s what we do while we’re living that really matters. This is what we’ll be remembered for. Here again, the words of Steve Jobs (who knew a thing or two about leaving a legacy):

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered

to help me make the big choices in life.

Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride,

all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death,

leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way

I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.

You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.